Rating summary

Movie		3.5
Video		3.5
Audio		4.0
Extras		2.5
Overall		3.5

The Forbidden Door Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman May 2, 2022

Fans of various nooks and crannies of international cinema will no doubt heard of so-called J-Horror, though in the case of The Forbidden Door, that J might conceivably refer to Java or Jakarta rather than Japan, even if the film's writer and director Joko Anwar evidently hails from another part of Indonesia called North Sumatra. The Indonesian setting of The Forbidden Door may seem to offer opportunities for some kind of "exotic" aspect, but as a matter of course The Forbidden Door isn't "site specific", so to speak, which may in fact make it more accessible for general audiences, despite a soundtrack that offers a lot of Indonesian dialogue with subtitles. The Forbidden Door is often incredibly stylish, though it's probably intentionally discursive, offering a fractured narrative that seems to be ping ponging across several different time frames and with an overall plot arc that might be ultimately reminiscent of The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari in one salient way which won't be overtly spoiled here, though those adept at reading between the lines may be able to sense the connection.

Gambir (Fachri Albar) is introduced in the film's opening scene as an incredibly successful celebrity sculptor whose work depicting pregnant women has become all the rage. His own wife Talyda (Marsha Timothy) has been unable to become pregnant herself, and in an awkward and kind of shocking scene, Gambir's own mother lets Gambir know that Talyda has told her about Gambir's issues with erectile dysfunction, stating that it's ridiculous to be embarrassed and that the only option is to find a solution (this lady really wants grandchildren). Gambir and Talyda live in an impossible luxe house and despite the childless aspect things seem at least relatively normal until Gambir starts finding scrawled messages around which are begging for help.

It turns out fertility wasn't always a problem for Gambir and Talyda, and a flashback documenting their trip to an abortion clinic before they got married has one of the more nightmarish vignettes, though it features nothing other than another man in a waiting area telling Gambir about his trips to the clinic with his wife. Slowly but surely, the film begins to weave together the abortion element with Gambir's sculpting, and suffice it to say that, while presented actually relatively conservatively, there's a horrific upshot to what's actually going on vis a vis Gambir's unexpected popularity.

But all of that weirdness soon gives way to a seemingly unconnected subplot where those "messages for help" may have something to do with a bizarre kind of closed circuit broadcast the Gambir becomes aware of which seems to show a young boy being abused in his house by two very unnurturing parents. Later, Gambir gets involved with a supposed top secret facility called Herosase, which has whole networks of these closed circuit broadcasts, though Gambir becomes obsessed with the young boy and if it might be possible to help him.

The titular "forbidden door" turns out to be a hidden portal in Gambir's own home which Talyda warns him from opening, but a totally gonzo Grand Guignol third act of course leads to its opening, when all of these disparate plot points are ostensibly woven together. I won't say anything revealed here is a total surprise, even if after the explaining there are still several questions which may be bothering some viewers, but what is kind of interesting is that the supposed denouement is just the first of at least two codas where Anwar seems to want to provide a series of stings. Those actually may not be totally necessary since so much of what has gone before is unsettling both visually and from an ultimate plot perspective.

The Forbidden Door Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

The Forbidden Door is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of Severin Films with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 1.85:1. Severin doesn't provide any technical information other than a generic announcement that this is the film's "North American Blu-ray premiere", and while the closing credits features a Fujifilm logo and at least one online source indicates 35mm, this seems to feature both film and HD video elements, as can perhaps be made out from parsing through all of the screenshots. (I wasn't able to listen to all of Joko Anwar's commentary, but the rather long sections I did listen to didn't get into any of the technical aspects, but the Behind the Scenes featurette certainly seems to show some kind of digital camera being utilized at least for some of the shoot.) One way or the other, this is such a highly stylized effort that I'm frankly not sure whether some of what is on tap here is intentional (all of the time) or not. Some of the footage that appears to be shot on film can be pretty rough looking, with a kind of noisy grain field. There are some moments that are obviously tweaked, either in terms of palette (see screenshot 6) or even in the overall look of the frame (see screenshot 19). Considering the "reveal" at the end of the film, I wondered if there was some kind of "internal logic" in terms of the presentational techniques of various scenes, but if there is, I frankly was not able to discern it. The more video elements here look kind of glossy but dimensionless, though detail levels are arguably sharper and more precise looking than in what seem to be the filmed elements.

The Forbidden Door Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

The Forbidden Door features a DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 track that supports an almost nightmarish sound design that features a wealth of weird sound effects populating various scenes. The score kind of takes a cue (no pun intended) from Jerry Goldsmith's Oscar winning work on The Omen by offering quasi-chant material along with more traditional underscore. Dialogue, which can ping pong from English to Indonesian, is presented cleanly and clearly throughout. Optional English subtitles are available.

The Forbidden Door Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Audio Commentary with Director Joko Anwar


• Opening the Door (HD; 17:29) is an interesting interview with writer and director Joko Anwar.


• Deleted and Extended Scenes (SD; 2:34, 1:28, 2:45, 4:42) offer optional commentary with director Joko Anwar. As evidenced by the timings, these are authored separately but move on automatically to the next one even without a Play All option.


• Behind the Scenes Featurette (SD; 22:02) is subtitled in English.


• Herosase Footage (SD; 7:05) may not be for the faint of heart.


• Poster and Still Gallery (HD; 1:00)


• Trailers (HD; 1:02 and SD; 1:51)

The Forbidden Door Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

The Forbidden Door is both incredibly audacious but actually in a way kind of surprisingly rote, at least in its "big reveal". The film is unbelievably stylish and horror fans will probably appreciate that, even if they may wish that the graphic blood spilling didn't have to wait until the third act. I'm not sure everything really hangs together perfectly, but there's enough interest generated by the plot's twists and turns that should keep audiences engaged. Video is a bit iffy looking at times, but is not overly problematic, but audio is frequently boisterous and as usual Severin has assembled some enjoyable supplements. Recommended.